The Labor Law Insider | Offensive Speech in the Workplace - Part II: Drawing the Line
The Beltway Buzz is a weekly update summarizing labor and employment news from inside the Beltway and clarifying how what’s happening in Washington, D.C., could impact your business....more
1. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) modified its standard for determining whether an employer may lawfully discipline an employee for abusive or offensive statements and conduct in the context of activity otherwise...more
Congress Debates Next Relief Package. As the Buzz has anticipated for a while now, this week the U.S. Senate began crafting a “Phase 4” response to the COVID-19 pandemic. While progress was made, as of this writing, no...more
This week the NLRB issued a blockbuster decision addressing employees’ abusive and foul language in the workplace. General Motors LLC, 369 NLRB No. 127 (2020). In the past, the Board has given many employees a free pass when...more
Right of First Refusal EO Revoked. Last week, President Trump issued an Executive Order revoking Executive Order 13495 issued by President Obama in January 2009. EO 13495 required that successor Federal service contractors...more
Last week, President Trump made headlines when he tweeted that “‘progressive’ Democrat Congresswomen … originally came from countries” that were “totally broken and crime infested,” and that they should “go back” to the...more
Employers need to be on the lookout for instances of offensive employee speech, which may put them between a rock and a hard place as they navigate potential claims under either anti-discrimination laws or federal labor laws....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Board panel finds hospital’s work rule prohibiting employees from engaging in offensive conduct to be unlawful. In Valley Health System, LLC d/b/a Spring Valley Hosp. Med. Ctr., 363 NLRB No. 178 (May...more
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed a judgment against a City of Houston employee who claimed that he was demoted for reporting another employee’s racially offensive comment made during a workplace meeting....more
An employee’s speech in the workplace may be disruptive to the day-to-day running of your company or worse, downright offensive and “bad for business.” This blog post will discuss when an employer is free to discipline an...more